With over a hundred years pedigree
in the field,
PUERTO DE LA CRUZ
does resort tourism well. The
bustling, former harbour town, which
still acts as a focal point for the
business communities in the Orotava
valley, was historically much
favoured by British traders who
erected the imposing
Grand Hotel
Taoro here in 1889. The hotel
itself helped to define Puerto de la
Cruz as a tourist destination. In
the 1890s it became a fashionable
spa town and since then it has been
a preferred haunt for wintering
European royalty and dignitaries
such as Winston Churchill and
Bertrand Russell. Despite the influx
of various high-rise complexes and
the associated tackiness of mass
tourism, Puerto has managed to
retain something of the style and
flair of a cosmopolitan spa as well
as keep the feel of a small,
friendly and busy Spanish town. It
has maintained an individuality and
character that the southern resorts
lack. Particularly popular with a
more mature holidaying clientele,
much in evidence promenading and
pottering happily there, Puerto
boasts the highest rate of return
visits of any resort in the world.
